1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the manufacture of masonry blocks, and in particular, the treatment of finished blocks for the purpose of providing textured surfaces to such blocks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Landscape retaining walls are generally made of concrete blocks having top and bottom surfaces which are generally hidden from view when the blocks are installed. The front face of such blocks is exposed, but the rear surface is not. The side surfaces, at least near the corners with the front face, are sometimes exposed in an assembled retaining wall. In order to provide the blocks with a natural stone look, it is preferred to give at least the front face a textured finish. A typical method of creating a textured finish is to mold the blocks in a slab and to split the slab, utilizing the fractured surfaces as the exposed front face. It is difficult to control the resulting surface since the slab could split along a fissure at an angle or actually produce a smooth portion.
It is also known to tumble the concrete blocks in a tumbler to chip the surfaces. However, all the surfaces are thus being treated rather than just the front or side surfaces. Furthermore, there is no control over the actual texture of the surface.
Furthermore, the process of manufacturing the blocks, including a surface treatment step, requires additional handling of the blocks after they have been molded. For instance, once the blocks have been produced and stacked, they must then be introduced into a tumbler or other apparatus to provide a surface treatment and then stacked again.